Wednesday, January 6, 2010

The draw for this weekend's Coast to Coast California Open, which kicks off the second part of the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) season, has now been released. There are 27 players in the qualifying rounds, so it could take three wins on Thursday to get to the Round of 16 on Friday.

Mitch Williams returns to competition after missing the US Open due to injury. He's seeded 7th and could face Javier Moreno in the Round of 16 in a battle of two left handed players.

Ben Croft, who surprised us in Memphis by getting to the semi-finals for the first time, is seeded 5th. He may face Kris Odegard, current Canadian Champion, in the 16s.

Another player to look out for is Jose Rojas, who also played well in Memphis. Since then he's won two gold medals - in singles and doubles - in his last year of eligibility at the World Junior Championships. Rojas reached the semi-finals of this event last year, and then lost to Rocky Carson. They will play in the 16s on Friday if Rojas wins his qualifying matches on Thursday.

Of course, given the season results so far, we'd expect the two top seeds - #1 Kane Waselenchuk and #2 Jack Huczek - to be in the final on Sunday. But this was the tournament that Waselenchuk failed to win last year, when Alvaro Beltran defeated him in the semi-finals.

If Waselenchuk, now a father for a second time, had as nice a holiday season this year as last, then perhaps he can be defeated again. Some players may have asked Santa Claus for that result, but the fat man doesn't usually deliver in January.